Fasano (; Barese: ) is a town and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in the

Province of Brindisi The province of Brindisi () is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Brindisi. It has an area of and a total population of 401,652 (2013). Geography The Province of Brindisi is situated in southeastern Italy, exte ...

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

, southern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is the second most populated town in the province after

Brindisi Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...

, with a population in 2021 of 39,026.

History

According to a

folk etymology Folk etymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a mo ...

, the name Fasano derives from the "Faso", a large wild columbus dove (also represented on the civic coat of arms) which drank from the ''fogge'', which was a type of swamp or pool in the open air formed from the water that flowed down from the surrounding hills. This area where the pool once was is now a communal garden.

Via Appia The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: Via Appia) is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, recor ...

, the road from Brindisi to Rome during ancient times, runs along Fasano's ''costal frazioni'', including Savelletri and is visible today.

Geography

Fasano marks the border between the

Salento Salento (; Salentino dialect, Salentino: ''Salentu''; Griko language, Salento Griko: ) is a Cultural area, cultural, List of historical states of Italy, historical, and geographic region at the southern end of the administrative region of Apuli ...

and the

Metropolitan City of Bari The Metropolitan City of Bari () is a metropolitan city in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Bari. It replaced the province of Bari and includes the city of Bari and some forty other ''comuni'' (: ''comune''). It was first c ...

. It is about from all three of the provincial capitals in Apulia, namely

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

Taranto Taranto (; ; previously called Tarent in English) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Taranto, serving as an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base. Founded by Spartans ...

and Brindisi. The municipality borders

Alberobello Alberobello (; literally "beautiful tree"; Bari dialect, Barese: ) is a small town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy. It has 10,237 inhabitants (2022) and is famous for its unique ''trullo'' buildings. The ...

( BA),

Cisternino Cisternino is a ''comune'' in the province of Brindisi in Apulia, on the coast of south-eastern Italy, approximately north-west of the city of Brindisi. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). Its main ...

Locorotondo Locorotondo ( Barese: ) is a town and municipality of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy, with a population of about 14,000. It is situated between Martina Franca and Alberobello in the Valle d'Itria, a green stretch of country ...

(BA),

Monopoli Monopoli (; ) is a town and comune, municipality in Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Bari and region of Apulia. The town is roughly in area and lies on the Adriatic Sea about southeast of Bari. It has a population of 49,246 (2014), ...

(BA) and

Ostuni Ostuni (; ) is a city and ''comune'', located about 8 km from the coast, in the province of Brindisi, region of Apulia, Italy. The town has a population of about 32,000 during the winter, but can swell to 200,000 inhabitants during summer, ...

. It counts the hamlets (''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

'') of Canale di Pirro, Laureto, Montalbano, Pezze di Greco, Pozzo Faceto, Savelletri, Selva di Fasano, Speziale, Torre Canne and Torre Spaccata. Fasano is situated in an area with olive trees and its territory extends from hills to the sea with rich Mediterranean vegetation. Coming down from hills the town of Fasano occupies a dominant position in the valley which then leads down to the sea: coastal resorts include Savelletri with its beaches, the archaeological digs at

Gnatia Gnatia, Egnatia or Ignatia () was an ancient city of the Messapii, and their frontier town towards the Salentini. As Egnazia Appula, it was a medieval bishopric, which remains a Latin Catholic titular see. It is located near the modern Fasano, i ...

and a golf course and the fishing town of Torre Canne. Around Fasano are Pezze di Greco, Montalbano, Speziale and Pozzo Faceto, centres of secular olive cultivation; and a range of medieval fortified masserie, or farmhouses, aimed at agricultural tourism.

Population

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Main sights

Religious

* Archaeological Park of Egnatia, an Ancient Italic city and former bishopric Egnazia Appula * Church of ''San Giovanni Battista'' (''Chiesa Matrice''), built in the 17th century. * ''Tempietto di Seppannibale'', an early Christian church * The

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

of Fasano, an Islamic-style construction from 1918.

Other

Dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

of Montalbano * ''Torrione delle Fogge'', the last remaining tower of the original eleven ones. * The Selva di Fasano, today a garden with villas * Original trulli houses * Fasanolandia, the first zoo safari of its kind in Europe

Transport

Fasano station is an important stop, both for regional and long-distance trains, on the Adriatic railway. The SS 16 highway "Adriatica"

Padova Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of ...

Otranto Otranto (, , ; ; ; ; ) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). ...

serves the town with two exits, "Fasano" and "Savelletri".

Sport

The A.S. Fasano is the town's football club, and its home ground is the Vito Curlo Stadium. The local handball clubs are the Junior Fasano and Roberto Serra Fasano.

Personalities

* Vittorio Ghirelli (b. 1994), racing driver * Giambattista Giannoccaro (b.1960), racing driver * Renato Olive (b. 1971), former footballer * Said Ahmed (b. 1972), kickboxer three times world champion

Gallery

File:FASANO -PANORAMICA.jpg File:Fasano BR.JPG File:Fasano - Comune di Fasano - 2023-09-27 19-13-27 001.jpg File:Monopoli - Chiesa di San Michele in Frangesto.jpg File:Inbound5603671366037254468.jpg

References

External links

Local foods from Fasano

Fasano hotels

Maps of Fasano
at ''Maplandia''
Cultural events in Fasano
{{authority control Cities and towns in Apulia